Piggy Smash With Gaming Corps Connor Blinman
We had the pleasure of speaking with Connor Blinman, Head of Games at Gaming Corps, five88.global about the studio’s recent release Piggy Smash. Read on to learn more about the process of creating Gaming Corp’s first smash hit of 2024, and what’s in store for the rest of the year.
It has been a few weeks now since Piggy Smash made its debut. What can you tell us about this new title?
Piggy Smash is the newest title from the Gaming Corps team that incorporates a classic arcade-style design with our new Smash4Cash mechanic.
As the name of the game suggests, the game centres around different coloured piggy banks, each of which corresponds to a different prize or feature. When a player places a bet, the hammer comes smashing down onto the piggy bank as it tries to smash it open.
Players can see the pipeline of piggy banks that can be smashed open, meaning they have an idea of the different prizes that they could potentially win. We have found that this keeps players not only interested, but it adds another fun level to the gameplay experience.
And why has now been the right time to launch Piggy Smash?
Piggy Smash is our first hit for 2024, and is the first to incorporate our Smash4Cash mechanic, so we really wanted to kick things off with something really unique.
The idea for the game had been discussed for a few months before we launched. Back in 2023, our team sat down with the mission to create something that the casino industry had not ever seen before.
As a mechanic, we had decided on the concept of Smash4Cash pretty early on. We knew we wanted to create something that was simple but entertaining. It wasn’t until we were testing out the game and smashing those piggy banks for the first time that the name Smash4Cash was decided.
What was the inspiration behind using piggy banks during the game?
For me, piggy banks are a true symbol of nostalgia. They take you back to that time when you would save up your pocket money and smash the ceramic pig open at the end of the year to count how much you have saved up.
So, when creating Piggy Smash, we wanted to replicate that feeling. We wanted the game to be both simple and amusing. The game itself is set in a bank vault, so we wanted to add just that bit of cheeky humour by including different colour piggy banks to smash open.
Gaming Corps has a great affinity for arcade-style games; they have always been popular with players as they create a sense of familiarity and nostalgia.
What we found during the development process, however, was that combining arcade themes with traditional casino games presented several unique challenges. It was not a straightforward experience of taking elements from one and adding it to the other.
As a team, we had to make sure that the game we created appealed to our audience – slot players know what they like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. We had to try and balance that sense of innovation with something we knew players would enjoy.
Fortunately, we were able to draw upon our experience of developing arcade games to create something new. It was a challenge, but it is something we have been proud to achieve.
You mentioned that you wanted to balance both simplicity with entertainment when creating Piggy Smash. How do you achieve that balance?
Absolutely, we wanted to create a gameplay experience that players would feel familiar with, but something that would also engage them. It is a balance that I’m confident we have achieved with Piggy Smash.
The beauty of the game comes down to the simplicity of the mechanic itself and the Smash4Cash™ name does exactly what is says on the tin.
We can’t forget the audio-visuals during the game either. During the brainstorming process, we wanted to give our team the opportunity to be a bit more creative; if you combine that with the simplicity of the mechanic, this has created something that truly stands out.
Our team did an excellent job at creating over-the-top Jackpot prize animations, sound effects and quirky background music that all adds to the overall gameplay experience.
In addition to the base game, you have incorporated a range of other features within Piggy Smash. Tell us about those.
Since the gameplay experience itself is pretty simple, we wanted to add a number of different features that would make Piggy Smash more dynamic. These include Multiplier, Rampage, Instant Win and Multiplier Rampage.
When the Multiplier feature is activated, the next piggy bank that is smashed open will be multiplied by up to x10. The Rampage feature could, theoretically, be compared to when players receive free spins during a traditional slot game; the hammer transforms to smash up to ten different piggy banks in a row for free.
The Instant Win feature is great, offering up the chance to win a mega-jackpot prize of up to x1000 the total bet. And then the fourth feature, Multiplier Rampage, combines both the Multiplier and Rampage features – meaning that consecutive piggy banks that are smashed open will be a Multiplier.
That all sounds very cool! Looking to the future then, what can we expect to see from Gaming Corps? Will we see more titles added to the Smash4Cash series?
You can definitely expect more titles to form part of the Smash4Cash series. We are actually already in the process of delivering our next game in the series, “Rampage!”, which we expect to release later this year.
Similar to Piggy Smash, this will centre around a simplistic design. Not only do we believe that this will resonate with those players that enjoy arcade-style games, but it also gives Gaming Corps the opportunity to work on some branded opportunities with our partners.
Our plans for 2024 don’t stop there. This year is going to be a big one for Gaming Corps, we are very excited about what is to come.
Throughout the year, we plan to release at least one slot game per month, each of which we are confident will deliver something unique for our players. We want to really push the boundaries when it comes to innovation and gameplay in 2024 – Piggy Smash has already achieved that, so stay tuned for what comes next!
